Photography has been significantly growing in popularity as a hobby. The ubiquity of lower-end digital cameras in smartphones has led to millions of people being able to gain experience with the hobby and recognize the shortcomings of the digital cameras they are carrying around in their devices. While many are content to keep using their smartphone cameras, others have been motivated to upgrade to a higher-quality stand-alone camera, even when their professions or other interests would not have pushed them in the direction of photography. Meanwhile, serious and professional photographers already realize the limitations of lower-end cameras and continue to use higher-end, larger camera gear.
Stand-alone digital and film cameras on the market today are expensive, fragile, and often need to be retrieved at a moment's notice when the photographer happens across something they think is worthy of a shot. This usually necessitates that the camera be carried in some kind of dedicated protective container or bag, which provides padding and protection to the camera as well as allowing for easy retrieval.
Existing camera bags on the market are mainly functional, providing the standard padding and protection needed for camera gear. However, there is a fundamental lack of “fashionable” camera bags (especially for women) that provide the necessary camera gear protection on the inside, while looking fashionable on the outside and being simple and convenient to use on a regular basis. This can dissuade many hobbyists, and even serious photographers also interested in being stylish, from engaging in photography as much as they would like to, if they are unable to protect their camera in a bag that they would prefer to carry.
There are a number of “inserts” on the market today that can be inserted into an existing handbag or other bag in order to provide protection for a camera and allow for a greater choice of bags. However, each of these inserts has several notable downsides. First, each of these inserts relies on very thick foam cushioning in order to provide adequate protection for the camera and lenses or attachments to be provided with the camera, which creates unnecessary bulk within the bag that usually renders it unsuitable for other purposes (such as carrying other items) and can distort the features of the bag, reducing its aesthetic value. Second, each of these inserts relies on using Velcro to attach the dividers so as to allow the dividers to be customized to many different sizes of bag; the use of Velcro also can make the bag unsuitable for other purposes, as exposed Velcro can catch on certain items that might commonly be disposed within a handbag. For example, if a woven scarf is placed within a handbag, the exposed Velcro can easily catch on the fabric and can create pulls, or can even completely ruin the fabric. Third, each of these existing inserts tends to suffer from the downside that there is no simple way to collapse, store, or pack the unit when not in use. Existing inserts are designed to be rigid, or (when foldable) require that the unit be disassembled into multiple pieces. For example, some existing inserts may require that the Velcro dividers be detached and that other snaps or mechanisms provided with the insert be undone in order to allow the unit to be folded. This is not convenient for the user, as pieces can be lost or go missing when the insert is removed from the bag (reducing the functionality of the insert or preventing it from functioning), or, if the insert is left within the bag when collapsed, the closures, snaps, or Velcro provided on parts of the insert to connect it to other parts of the insert can damage the internal contents of the bag.